Omaha daily bee., 1887-11-06

YER; while in some districts OF Spain and
Portugal, three rings are placed, one at
a time, on the
FINGERS OF THE BRIDE,
as the words, "ln the name of the
Father, and of the Son. and of the Holy
Ghost" are pronounced.
Fashion has also determined, not only
the style of the wedding ring, but the
finger on which it is to be worn; and so
capriciously has custom varied, that tho
symbol of matrimony has travelled from
the thumb to the fourth finger. where it
now reposes. In the time of Elizabeth,
it was customary, both in England and
on the continent, for ladies to wear
rings on the thumb, and several
of her rings now shown
in the British, museum from
their size, must have been thumb
rings. That the practice of wearing
thumb rings extended to the case OF
married ladies and their wedding rings,
is amply attested, not only by illusions
in contemporary literature, but by the
portraits of matrons of that age, Il great
many, where the hands are shown, dis
playing the wedding ring on the left
thumb. In the time of Charles H., the
ring seems to have found lodgment on
forefinger, sometimes on the middle
finger, occasionally on the third finger
| also, and, by the time George l. came to
the throne, the third finger was recog-
nized as the proper place for it, not uni
versally, however, for William Jones in
his treatise on rings, declares that even
then the thumb was the favorite place
for the wedding ring, and gives in
stances OF the ring being made of large
size, and, although placed on the third
finger at the ceremony, Immediately
afterward removed to the thumb.
An English work on etiquette, pub
lished in 1882. says it is for the bride to
choose on which finger the wedding
ring shall be placed. 1t further states
| that some prefer the thumb, since it is
| the strongest and most important men,
| Der of the hand; others, the index fin
| ger, because at its base lies the mount
| of Jupiter, indicating the noble aspira-
| tions; others, the middle finger, because
| it is the longest of the four; and others,
| again, the fourth finger, because "veln
proceeds from it to the heart"
The British Apollo" however, de-
cides the proper place for the ring
| to be
! THE FOURTH FINGER,
| not because it is nearer the heart than
| the others, but because on it the ring is
| less liable to injury. The same author
ity prefers the left hand to the right.
| The right hand is the emblem of author
ity, the left of submission, and the posi-
tion of the ring on the left hand of the
bride indicates her subsection to her
husband. A curious exception to the
rule placing the ring on the left hand
| is, however, seen in the usage of the
| Greek church, which puts the ring on
| the right hand.
AS the symbol of matrimony, it is not
| strange that many of the superstitious
| fancies which have arisen in connection
| with the wedding should cluster about
| the ring. Dreaming on a bit of wedding
| cake is common among American young
| ladies but they should be informed that
for the dreaming to be properly done,
the piece of cake thus brought into SER
| vice should be passed through the we'd
ding ring, for SO it is done in Yorkshire,
! Wales, and Brittany, in which localities
the custom has been observed from time
immemorial. The Russian peasantry
not only invest the cake with wonderful
qualities by touching it with the two
rings used in the ceremony, but deem
that water in which the rings have been
dipped has certain curious beneficial
properties.
In many country districts of Great
Britain it is believed that a marriage is
not binding on either party unless n
ring is used; hence, curtain rings. the
church key, and other substi-
tutes, including a ring cut from
have been mentioned as devices
to meet an emergency, when ring of
the proper kind could not be procured
in time. In parts of Ireland, however,
there is current belief that ring of
gold must be used, and jewellers in the
country towns not infrequently hire
gold rings to peasants, to be returned
after the ceremony.
Blessing the ring gives it no small
share of sanctity, and old missals con-
tain explicit directions as to the man
ner in which this ceremony must be
carried out. In the church service as
performed in the villages of England, f,
the ring is frequently placed in the mis-
sal, the practice being, no doubt, a
relic of the blessing once thought indis-
pensable. The German peasant women
continue to wear the wedding ring Of
the first husband, even after u second
marriage, and a recent book of Ger
man travels mentions a peasant
wearing, at one time. the wedding
rings of four ''late lamenteds." An in
stance is known Of IA woman of German
birth. who, after the death of her hus-
band in a western state, had the misfor-
tune to lose her ring. She at once
bought another, had it blessed and wore
it instead OF the former, deeming it
unlucky to be without a wedding ring.
Among the same class Of people, steal
ing a wedding ring is thought TO brin g
evil on the thief, while breaking the
emblem of marriage is a sure sign OF
speedy death to one or both Of the con-
tracing parties.